Weary but jubilant passengers finally set foot on dry land on Thursday after five days stranded at sea aboard the crippled Carnival cruise ship - but for some, the nightmare was not yet over.

The Triumph finally docked in Mobile, Alabama at 9.30pm after a slow crawl into port and hundreds of passengers boarded buses for New Orleans, Galveston and Houston.

But as one bus of passengers, who had endured days without water, heat or working bathrooms, made the two-hour trek to New Orleans, one of the vehicles broke down at 2.30 a.m., leaving them stranded for an hour.

'The bus literally breaks down,' passenger Clark Jones told Live at Daybreak. 'It comes to a stop in the middle of the highway. We have to pull over to the side. It's dark. All the lights on the bus go out.'

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Neverending story: Passengers haul their luggage onto a new bus after theirs broke down on the side of the road travelling from Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans

Long journey into night: Carnival passenger Clark Jones, left, poses on the bus bound for New Orleans in the early hours of Friday. Jones' bus broke down and left passengers stranded for an hour

Out of power: He also uploaded this picture of the broken-down bus on the side of the road

He added that there was a mixed reaction from the exhausted passengers on board.

'My son Jacob and I, when we pulled over and realised the bus was broken, we just started laughing. People were giggling. Other people were not happy,' he said.

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For Jones, it was just another blip in the long journey back home. A back up coach picked up the passengers and they headed to New Orleans. He will now fly to Houston, pick up a car in Galveston and drive back to Dallas.

It was a more jubilant scene hours before, as the ship inched along the dock and loud cheering and the song 'Sweet Home Alabama' could be heard from the decks as the vessel blew her horn.

Some passengers
had written Valentine's Day messages while another had scrawled: 'The ship's afloat, so is the sewage.'

Back on dry land! Kendall Jenkins kisses the ground after stepping off the Carnival ship Triumph at the Alabama Cruise terminal on February 14

Seeing the lighter side: Veronica Arriaga, of Angleton, Texas holds a sign referring to the red biohazard bags used as toilets after arriving by bus at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans

Passengers Kendall Jenkins, left, and Brittany Fergusson cheer after disembarking from the Carnival Triumph cruise ship after reaching the port of Mobile

VIDEO We failed our passengers: Carnival CEO apologizes...

Passengers have revealed the horrific
conditions on board including sewage sloshing down corridors and being
reduced to going to the bathroom in red plastic 'biohazard' bags.

Despite the passengers'
excitement that the beleaguered ship had finally docked, it took
five hours for all 3,470 guest and 1,086 crew to disembark because
only one elevator on board was working.

As
he waited with increasingly frustrated family members, retired North
Western pilot Fran Thompson, 75, took consolation from one fact – that
he knew his wife and her sister would be one of the first ten to
disembark the Triumph.

Mr
Thompson, a ‘country boy’ from Louisville, had bought the cruise as a
Christmas treat for his wife of 50 years, Darlene, 67, and her sister
Marilyn, 62, who was recently diagnosed with stage-four cancer.

Speaking to MailOnline he said: ‘I thought it was a nice thing to do. Then it turned into this cruise from hell.

Rations: For the last five days on the Triumph, passengers have been eating bread, mustard and slivers of ham

The cruise ship Carnival Triumph finally docks with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members on board

VIDEO Nowhere to run: Horror conditions on Triumph

VIDEO Passengers relive cruise ship horror

‘I
managed to speak to my wife in the past hour and she is doing just what
I would do. She’s protecting me. She’s lying to make me feel better.’

The truth, as Mr Thompson knows and fears, is that: ‘One of the worst thing for a cancer sufferer is stress.

‘My wife is a cancer survivor and now her sister has been diagnosed.

‘I’ve
been married almost 50 years and my job is to take care of my wife. I
signed on for that a long time ago and I don’t care what Carnival or
anyone else says. I want to make sure she’s safe.’

As
a former pilot, Mr Thompson said: ‘I’ve been on the other side of this.
I know how this works – what we’re told and what we’re not.

Deplorable: An Instagram photo provided by a passenger on the Carnival Triumph shows guests sleeping outside after the boat was stranded at sea for five days last month

Coming in: Passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph walk along the deck eager to get off the ship as it docks in Mobile, Alabama

‘I
was on hold to Carnival for three hours yesterday. I don’t believe that
it’s anyone other than their insurance company calling the shots.’

As
for the passengers on board, Mr Thompson was clear: ‘They don’t know
anything. They’re not being told what they need to know.’

He added: ‘My job, fifty years ago, was to take care of my wife and that’s my job today.’

Earlier on Thursday Mr Thompson and a group of husbands in Mobile to meet their wives and children had bought as many roses as they could find to greet them on Valentine’s Day – though by the time some of them had disembarked that day was already over.

He said: ‘Carnival has told me to save all my receipts. To hell with it. All I want to do is see my wife and hug her so tight and take her home and take Marilyn home.’

Weary: Passengers from the disabled Carnival Triumph cruise ship arrive in New Orleans after a two-hour bus journey from Alabama

Heading home: Carnival Triumph passengers leaving the Alabama Cruise terminal in the early hours of February 15 after five nightmareish days in the Gulf of Mexico

Land at last: Passengers on board the Carnival Triumph celebrated docking at Mobile and ending their five day ordeal

We made it: Passengers lined the decks waving, cheering loudly and whistling to those on shore

Exhausted passengers brought tales of woe from what they had been through on the Triumph after it became stranded in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine fire on Sunday.

‘The thing I'm looking
forward to most is having a working toilet and not having to breathe in
the smell of fecal matter,’ said Jacob Combs, a sales executive from
Austin, Texas.

‘Just imagine the filth,’ Mr Combs said ‘People were doing crazy things and going to the bathroom in sinks and showers.

'It was inhuman. The stewards would go in and clean it all up. They were constantly cleaning.'

A bachelorette party told CNN on Friday how their four-day fun cruise quickly descended into nightmare conditions.

Bethany
Nutt said: 'The boat was leaning and we were waiting in limbo for
hours. It's just hitting us now, the exhaustion and tiredness.'

Her friend and the bachelorette Chrystal Roderick added: 'You didn't know how dark it was going to get each night.'

Ms
Roderick's fiancé Kyle Nutt said: 'We had no clue, we didn't know what
was going on, we were just sitting at home and waiting for news.'

Waiting for freedom from the #cruiseshipfromhell: One passenger waiting to leave the ship tweeted this picture

James Enmon hugs his aunt Kristi Conn, both of Orange, Texas, after getting off the cruise ship Carnival Triumph

With the Carnival Triumph safely in dock on Thursday night, company CEO Gerry Cahill once again apologized to the thousands still languishing on board.

'Clearly we have failed,' he said. 'The most important thing for me now is to get on board and to apologize to our guests and that is what I am going to do now.'

Mr Cahill has been heavily criticized
for his apparent absence during much of the past few days – much of the
day's press briefings were conducted by Vice President Terry Thornton.

Most passengers who have spoken about the ordeal have been extremely positive about the crew

Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill publicly apologized to the thousands of passengers who had endured five days on board the crippled cruise ship

People watch from their balconies and hold up signs aboard the Carnival Triumph after it was towed to the cruise terminal in Mobile, Ala.

Members of the media gather at the cruise ship terminal

Rebekah's father Larry Poret told CNN
on Thursday: 'We were asked to use plastic bags to go to the bathroom
and then use the shower.

'Sewage is going from one floor to the next... passengers are wading in it.'

He also said that the boat was listing so badly that passengers were falling into walls as they tried to walk up and down.

As the cheers and hollers of all
aboard competed in the chill Alabama night with the sound of helicopters
overhead and the buzz of media outlets on shore Mr Cahill, visibly
strained, thanked the U.S. Coastguard, the city of Mobile and Customs and
Borders Patrols for helping in the often fraught attempts to bring the
Triumph home.

'Having got our guests back to land,' he said, 'Now we've got to get them home.'

Within moments of Mr Cahill's speech the port which has been in limbo for so many hours lit up with action – albeit limited given the sheer volume of passengers to disembark.

An ambulance and Emergency Service truck was positioned at the foot of the gangway while Mobile Port staff, dressed in red sweaters and black trousers, scuttled up the gangways pushing wheelchairs to bring the elderly, those with special needs and children off the boat first.

Impatience quickly took hold and singing rapidly gave way to shouts of:'We want off!'

As the cheers and chatter continued to drift ashore from Triumph's decks so too did a distinct, cloying odor.

About an hour after the ship pulled up a steady stream of passengers began making their way down the glass-enclosed gang plank, some in wheelchairs and others pulling carry-on luggage. One man gave the thumbs up.

The passengers were given the option of a seven-hour bus ride to the Texas cities of Galveston or Houston or a two-hour trip to New Orleans. Some are also staying in Mobile. From there, passengers will make their way home with Carnival covering the cost.

Thanks for a memories: A passenger poses with a crew member and a biohazard bag of the type used for going to the bathroom on board the ship

Holiday from hell: : A four-day cruise to Mexico turned into a nightmare for guests who were still stuck on the boat without proper bathrooms, heating or food

As buses started leaving the raucous terminal, some of the passengers spoke to the waiting media about their ordeal.

While still at sea many passengers had told horrifying tales of overflowing toilets, food shortages, foul odors and dangerously dark passageways.

Now they were finally back on dry land, most passengers choose to focus on the positives and seemed relieved to be over the worst of their ordeal.

'I'm feeling awesome just to see land and buildings,' said 24-year-old Brittany Ferguson of Texas, who was in a white robe given to her aboard. 'The scariest part was just not knowing when we'd get back.'

Friends J J Batcheller and
Joy Dyer were celebrating JJ’s 40th birthday with the cruise. 'It
started out a great cruise it turned into a bad float trip,’ said Joy.

JJ said: ‘We now know things about each
other we really don’t need to know. I have another cruise booked in
May for my 20th wedding anniversary. I need to talk to
my husband about that one.’

For four days the Triumph had been dragged towards land by tugboats hauling her 102,000 tonnes.

Triumph is the so-called pride of the Carnival fleet - a $420million vessel which became a 'floating petri dish' of dysfunctional bathrooms, overflowing toilets, urine soaked carpets, idle air-conditioning units and luxury cabins abandoned in favor of a shanty town of tents on deck or cooler hallways.

Around midday on Thursday the ship finally began to enter the channel leading to its final destination in Mobile. Disaster struck temporarily around 2pm when the lead tug’s tow rope snapped but it was quickly fixed.

Deporable: One passenger hold up a biohazard bag which served as the bathroom

Children sit on their makeshift beds waiting for the cruise ship to dock

Trip from hell: Passengers had to wait in line for hours to get food and many hadn't had a hot meal since Sunday

Where's my charger: After days without power a generator was airlifted unto the ship today and many people took the opportunity to charge their phones

One passenger was taken off the ship earlier on Thursday due to ‘medical issues’ which was later reported as a stroke, according to Fox.

In a bid to speed up the customs process, passengers were on board the ship by officials who sailed out to meet the incoming boat.

Family members traveled through the night, not wanting to miss the much anticipated arrival. They came bearing flowers, balloons and banners. And they stood, their offerings wilting at the news of further delay and the prospect of the wait carrying on into the chill night.

Passengers stand between sheets over makeshift beds lining one of the outdoor decks on the Carnival Cruise ship Triumph

Many passengers have been sleeping outside to try and avoid the stench inside the ship

Unsanitary: Passengers did the best they could to keep waste separate from living areas

Kept in the dark: Passengers have nothing to do but sit and wait on board after the power went out on Sunday

Jon Hair, a pastor from Lake Charles
Louisiana, had waited anxiously for his wife, Julie, daughter Julianna,
sister Robin and her daughters Brianna and Brooklyn who were all
aboard.

‘It was a
reward trip for my daughter for doing well at school,’ Jon, 39,
explained. ‘She’s an honors student. It’s her first cruise experience.’

The
pastor had managed to speak briefly with his wife who told of
overflowing toilets, of sleeping in the dark corridors, of the pitch
black of their section of the ship.

‘This morning they had cold frozen waffles for breakfast,’ he said. ‘It’s not what we planned for Valentine’s Day.’

Some passengers celebrate Valentine's Day by making a heart shape from a load of life jackets

Help! Passengers on the Triumph played it up for the news helicopters which were circling the boat early on Thursday

Making your own entertainment: Passengers had to bundle up in whatever clothes after the ship's heating failed

Almost there: The Carnival is slowly making its way towards port crawling along at the rate of six to seven knots - about the pace of a lawnmower

Disgust: Guests were forced to defecate into plastic bags and place them outside their rooms after toilets on board the Triumph became blocked following the electrical failure

VIDEO Footage from on board Triumph shows engine fire

Passengers on the Carnival Cruise ship Triumph huddle around a jury-rigged phone recharging station

And though measured in his condemnation Rev Hair was angry at the lack of communication between Carnival and concerned family members.

‘Some,’ he said, ‘Were downright insulting when all we’ve been trying to do is find out where our family are and know that they are safe.’

At a press conference earlier on Thursday, Carnival Vice President Terry
Thornton had been at pains to praise his team in Miami who, he said, had ‘fielded more than 7000 calls.’

The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is slowly being towed into Mobile Bay

Making light of it: Some weary cruisers have taken to Instagram to share their experience with the social media world

Foul: Passengers on board the Carnival Triumph reported that floors were being flooded with raw sewage from overflowing bathrooms

Putrid: Many passengers on the Carnival cruise ship slept on mattresses in the hallways covered in sheets and towels for extra warmth

The ship set sail from Galveston, Texas on February 7 and was due to return from Mexico on February 11.

A fire in the engine room on Sunday changed everything and turned this cruise – a honeymoon for at least one couple – into an unforgettable journey for all the wrong reasons.

Mobile is bristling with a sort of civic pride as, having only just swept up after Mardi Gras – there are still beads on the street - the town has stepped up to play its part in this rescue mission of sorts.The Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau has shut up shop so that all staff could assist in Operation Save the Day.

The Red Cross van has pulled up and the Salvation Army too – none anticipating quite how much of this drama was still to run when they arrived on Wednesday night.

‘We’re under Homeland Security measures,’ said David Randel, the Bureau’s CEO. Close to 100 volunteers were there, ready to help.

Jon Hair holds a banner made for returning family members as people await the arrival of the crippled Carnival cruise ship Triumph

As Cruise Terminal General Manager, Sheila Gurganus put it, ‘We were a cruise destination before. We’re happy to do it again.’

Two years ago Carnival Cruises pulled out of Mobile – taking three ships and considerable income with them.

Who could blame Mobile authorities for enjoying just a little squeeze of Schadenfreude at the prospect of Carnival’s least appropriately named vessel limping ashore now?

Gerry Cahill, President and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines said: ‘We know it has been a longer journey back than we anticipated at the beginning of the week.

‘We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure.’

For this reason he explained, Carnival will be paying each passenger $500, ‘In addition to the full refund and future cruise credit already offered.’

Carnival has mobilized approximately 200 team members to be on the ground in Mobile ‘to assist and support guests’ arrival and travel home.’

Guests were given the option of boarding one of the 100 coaches provided to transfer them to Galveston or New Orleans to where 1500 hotel rooms had been reserved.

From there they have the option of taking chartered flights from Houston back to Galveston.

Phone banks and laptop stations were set up in the Terminal, water, refreshments and catering…the statement from Carnival trilled. ‘In the motor coaches, guests will find water, boxed lunches, coloring books and games for children.’

The disused cruise terminal in Mobile which awaits the passengers

SOS!
Passengers wave to helicopters above the Carnival Triumph from their
makeshift beds on the deck under bathrobes and bedsheets

Coming home: Passengers on the cruise liner have reported flooded toilets, no air conditioning and limited food supplies

Signs of frustration: The Edmond family tweeted this pic from the deck of the Carnival Triumph cruise ship on Thursday as they headed to port

Passengers gathered on board the deck of the Carnival, many are seen filming a passing news helicopter with their cellphones

The long way home: Passengers scrawled on bed sheets and held up SOS messages for the helicopters to see

Let me go home! Desperate passengers hung signs from their balconies after enduring five days at sea on a ship without power

People have gotten food poisoning. Old people have fallen and hurt themselves.

Renee Shanar, of Houston, on board

We were asked to use plastic bags to go to the bathroom and then use the shower. Sewage is going from one floor to the next...passengers are wading in it.

Larry Poret, Triumph passenger

The final stage in the Triumph's arduous journey was excruciatingly slow for exhausted passengers who had been able to see land since Thursday morning.

The first dramatic pictures, taken from helicopters on Thursday morning, showed exhausted passengers huddled together wearing bathrobes for warmth and hanging SOS signs from their balconies on board the crippled ship.

Later on Thursday, after guests managed to charge their phones and cameras from generators delivered to the boat, their own images started to appear online.

Among the grim scenes, were rows of people sleeping on mattresses, others lying on top deck shielding themselves from the sun's glare under white sheets and bags of excrement left in hallways.

Horrendous pictures have emerged of the
putrid conditions on board the Carnival cruise ship as beleaguered
passengers spent five days at sea experiencing overflowing sewage,
unbearable stenches and makeshift beds in hallways.

It is five days since the ship, sailing in the Gulf of Mexico with 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members, experienced an engine room fire which has crippled the power system.

As the Triumph slowly made it's way to shore stomach-churning details emerged about the vacation from hell.

On the top deck, a 'shanty town' had sprung up with passengers sleeping on sun loungers, wrapped in bedsheets to stay warm as temperatures dropped to 46F.

Despite the fact it rained throughout Wednesday night, passengers opted to sleep outdoors because the stench of sewage has become so unbearable inside the ship.

Aerial shots of the boat emerged on Thursday morning after ABC's Good Morning America chartered a plane to fly over the vessel.

One passenger Jamie Baker said she and her friends slept in their life vests one night because the ship was listing and they feared it would tip over.

Carnival Vice President Terry Thornton has admitted that it may take five hours to evacuate all the passengers

First sighting: The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is visible several miles beyond the Sand Island Light House near Dauphin Island, Alabama

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? CARNIVAL'S CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR GUESTS

It will take four to five hours for all passengers to disembark.

Carnival said that 200 staff members, including a 'care team', will be highly visible at the port to help their exhausted and grubby passengers.

Medical teams will also be on hand for anyone who needs health care.

Despite landing in Mobile, a city which has hundreds of hotel rooms and two airports, passengers will then either board buses directly to Galveston or Houston in Texas.

The other option is to spend the night in a New Orleans hotel room. Those who opt to stay in New Orleans will catch flights to Houston on Friday.

Guests have already indicated which option they prefer to Carnival.

Carnival VP Terry Thornton said today that it as not 'logistically feasible' for passengers to remain in Mobile because of the volume of flights required. They company said it will cover all transportation costs.

Passengers are supposed to get a full refund and discounts on future cruises along with an additional $500 in compensation.The
friends had driven from their homes in Texas to Alabama so that they
could welcome their young daughters home. The women had stocked up on
food, and if necessary antibiotics for the girls.

Passengers reported how the four-day
luxury cruise has turned into a nightmare as carpets and mattresses
became soaked in raw sewage and scare food supplies left them with
nothing to eat but sandwiches with condiments as fillings.

Tempers flared as passengers became
tired and dirty, frustrated with the lack of information from Carnival
bosses and the fact that some passengers had been hoarding food.

One passenger Julie Morgan told CNN that the crew had been 'phenomenal' as they worked 24-hour shifts to deal with problems.

She added: 'Any of our complaints are with head office.'

Doctor Jorge Rodriguez told CNN the Triumph was a 'floating petri dish' because of the combination of circumstances on board.

He said that raw sewage posed a major health risk while stagnating air could increase respiratory infections.

Renee Shanar, of Houston, is on board
the Triumph with her husband. In a text message, she said that Carnival
has told the passengers that they are delayed again 'because of winds'.

She wrote: 'We think they don't want media there.'

Shanar said conditions were 'horrible' and there is food but bathrooms aren't flushing.

'People have gotten food poisoning. Old people have fallen and hurt themselves,' she wrote in a text message.

Speaking by phone to NBC’s Today show
on Thursday morning, passenger Jamie Baker said conditions on the ship
were 'extremely terrible'.

There has been no electricity and few working toilets, she said.

Ms Baker also described having to use
plastic bags to go to the bathroom and wait in line for hours to get
food and once saw a woman pass out line.

'It’s just a nightmare,' she added.

Vivian Tilley, whose sister Renee
Shanar is on the ship, said she told her the that cabins were hot and
smelled like smoke from the engine fire, forcing passengers to stay on
the deck. She also said people were getting sick.

The company has disputed the accounts
of passengers who describe the ship as filthy, saying employees are
doing everything to ensure people are comfortable.

Two mothers told of the terrified
phone calls that they had received from their young daughters who begged
to be rescued from the ship.

Kim McKerreghan told CNN that her
daughter Allie Taylor, 10, was stuck on the cruise ship with her
ex-husband Carmel and was becoming hysterical over the 'scary'
conditions.

Ms McKerreghan said: 'She said "Momma,
please just come get me, just come get me. It's so hot. I don't want to
be here, momma. Come get me, please.'''

Slow progress: Residents sit on the shore and watch as the cruise ship Carnival Triumph inches towards them at a rate of six to seven knots